This is a story about emotional intelligence and winning arguments.

Let's start by ensuring we're on the same page regarding the definitions of three key terms. Get these right, and you're halfway there. 

First, "winning."

• For our purposes, a winning argument is one from which you emerge in a position that makes it more likely you will achieve your ultimate goals than you were before.
• It often does not mean convincing the other side that you are right and they are wrong. How often does that happen, anyway?
• In fact, when we talk about "winning arguments," don't think of "winning" as a verb; think of it as an adjective. You'll wind up happier.

Next, "emotional intelligence." 

• Emotional intelligence in this context is a practiced awareness of how emotions affect your communication and organizational efforts, along with thinking through how to leverage emotions (both yours and other people's) to make your points clearer and more relatable and to become more persuasive.
• Emotional intelligence often leads people to treat others more nicely and to develop empathy for them. But these benefits are tangential positives. They are not the core definition or goal.

Finally, "arguments."

• Arguments, as we examine them here, are communications designed to advance common understanding, resolve disputes, or achieve goals. They have more in common with negotiating than they do with fighting.
• The business contexts could be infinite: a dispute with a competitor, an application to a government regulator, a difficult conversation with an employee; the list goes on.
• Not every negotiation is an argument, but every argument involves some degree of negotiation.

If you look for advice on how to handle these challenges with emotional intelligence, you'll more quickly find discussion of them in the context of romantic or family relationships than business relationships. Maybe that's because we quite reasonably value those relationships more. Good for us, frankly.

But, these rules are also applicable in business contexts. Since so many people don't learn them, it's almost as if they're secrets hiding in plain sight, offering big advantages to those who do use them. 

With that in mind, I set out to boil down some of the most common advice that therapists and counselors repeatedly give in terms of "how to argue with your spouse," or "fighting fair in relationships." Then, I ran it all by a trio of counselors and psychotherapists, including those teaching conflict management on the collegiate level, to adapt them to rules that business leaders and business owners can use.

Here are the 9 no-longer-secret rules of winning arguments that emerged.

Rule #1: Before you start arguing, decide how you want it to end.

I hope you're going to read all the way to the end of this article, but this rule is by far the most important. It's non-negotiable, even while some of the others might involve a balancing act.

In short, when it comes to arguments, know what you want to get out of them before you get into them.

Keep in mind: You might have a long-term desired outcome ("I want this employee to succeed, help my business grow, and be happy"), and you also might have a short-term desired outcome ("I want to figure out why this employee has had a hard time meeting expectations lately.")

But like so many things in life, people often fail miserably here because they haven't taken the time to think deeply about what success would look like. (Put differently: Follow the Z-Y-X Rule.)

Rule #2: Think how you can make it end well for the other side.

There are at least two parties in any argument: you and the other side. 

The other side should practice Rule #1 here, just as I'm advising you to. Sometimes they will; sometimes they won't. But even if they break that cardinal rule, you can do a bit of it for them. You can think through how you can get what you want, while also letting the other side get at least some of what they want, too.

At the very least, you can endeavor to ensure that they know you've listened to them, and they've been able to have their say--and perhaps "save face" to some degree.

"Ever seen two kangaroos fighting?" commented Jan Harrell, a clinical psychologist for 40 years who taught at UCLA and Southern Oregon University. "It's hysterical. They throw their little heads back, and they throw their paws out. That's how I see a lot of people arguing. They're fighting to be heard. Fighting to be seen. You can gain a lot by being the one who acknowledges the other person's reality."

Rule #3: Control the circumstances.

There are three main circumstances you want to control, or at least be aware of: time, place, and manner of your debate.

When are you talking? How are you talking? Who's initiating the call or traveling to the other person's location? Is this all over email or text? Are other people listening in?

These are all "negotiations before the negotiation," so to speak. And, while you don't necessarily have to have "your way or the highway," pay attention.

If you're a boss who needs to have a heart-to-heart with an employee, and yet that employee keeps putting you, off or insisting that you accommodate their schedule, that tells you something right there. 

Important final point: Of all the circumstances, time stands out. Set end times. Maybe you stick with them during the argument or change them, but they're a great tool to have brought with you. 

Rule #4: Control the emotions.

Control your emotions, of course. That doesn't mean be emotionless; it means being aware of how you feel and how those feelings might affect what you say and do--for better and for worse.

But also, keep an eye on the other person's emotions.

This is also where it pays to remember that your goal is not always to make the other person feel as comfortable as possible. Be decent, of course, but sometimes anxiety or excitement on the other side of a table can make a good resolution more likely for you.

"When you're cognitively hyper-aroused, when you have a racing heartbeat, racing thoughts, people around you can pick up on this," said Dr. Gillian O'Shea Brown, a psychotherapist who specializes in complex relational trauma and teaches at New York University. "Being calm and clear-headed--this is a primer for any kind of effective communication."

Rule #5: Do not skip the small talk.

Your small talk might be brief, but it's nevertheless important. It's an early opportunity to find common ground.

Maybe you're arguing with a vendor who hasn't lived up to expectations. Maybe you're having a difficult conversation with an employee who you don't think is going to be a great fit, long-term.

Those conversations can be fraught, so starting with something simple like: "I know things have been hard, but I appreciate you taking the time to talk things through, and I hope we can reach an accommodation," can improve the tone.

Important caveat: Don't open with a question, even something as seemingly innocuous as "How are things?"

Use declarations like the one above. Otherwise, you're starting out with either an invitation to get off track, or else asking something you don't really want to hear the answer to. Either way, you risk sending an unintentional message.

Rule #6: Adjust (not react) in real time.

The important thing here is to keep in mind, at least for our purposes, there is a difference between adjusting and reacting. 

Let's use an example. Imagine that your ultimate goal is to help an employee become more effective at work, and you walk in thinking that his or her difficulty probably stems from not having enough flexibility.  

But during the conversation, the employee tells you that the real problem is that she doesn't get enough clear direction or feedback.

• You could react to that, emotionally: "I'm a very good boss, and I give very clear directions and feedback!"
• Or you could adjust your response, in a less emotional way: "O.K. Maybe it would help if we set up weekly check-ins like this to make sure you know what's expected." 

All other things being equal, which reaction do you think is more likely to lead to your stated goal of having an effective employee?

Rule #7: Listen -- and look as if you're listening.

Listening is harder than people like to give it credit for. It's not just being quiet or being able to parrot back what someone has said. It's really a form of communication.

Perception is important. Even if you're a pro at multitasking, think through what it looks like if you check your phone five times during the discussion, or if your assistant interrupts you twice to ask you questions.

There are times when it's OK to be distracted. Maybe you decided it was tactically wise to agree to an employee's request that you have your discussion as soon as possible, which happens to mean doing it via phone while you're driving. In that case, I want your attention on the road.

Or else, there might also be times when you want to signal clearly that the dispute you're arguing about really is not that important to you. If the only time you'll allocate for a discussion is 15 minutes via cell phone during a layover in a noisy airport, that sends a message. Just make sure you send that message intentionally.

Rule #8: If you interrupt, do so strategically.

You're the boss, so it's likely up to you to make sure you cover the things you want to cover.

That means that you want to listen actively and strive for the other person to feel heard. But it doesn't mean you have to endure a filibuster, or allow the conversation to go completely off track.

"Think about how you strategically interrupt," suggested O'Shea Brown. "Maybe, 'I hear you have a lot to say in regard to your feelings. We both want a solution, so let's pivot toward solutions.' Your tone is everything. To paraphrase Maya Angelou, they might not remember what you said, and they might not remember what you did, but they'll remember how you made them feel."

Rule #9: Seek to understand

It's good that we end on this point, because unless you're planning to try to steamroll over the other side -- in which case, why bother with the argument? -- understanding will be key to guiding things toward where your ultimate goals are more likely.

Tactically speaking: Ask open-ended questions, and even repeat back to the other person some of what they say. You want to know where they're coming from so that you can better articulate your own points, and improve the odds of emerging closer to your goals.

"That's important because you need to understand where the other person is coming from to present a compelling argument," said Miriam Bowers-Abbott, who teaches communication and conflict management at Mount Carmel College of Nursing in Ohio. "If you don't know what their priorities are, it's hard to convince them."

Inc

Sports Minister, Sunday Dare, will today in Lagos, receive the athletes, who did the nation proud at the just concluded African U18 and U20 Athletics Championship in Ndola, Zambia.

The first batch of Nigerian contingent to the championship arrived in Lagos yesterday afternoon. Team Nigeria, with a small contingent of 41 athletes, finished second on the final medals table behind South Africa with 17 gold, 10 silver and 9 bronze. South Africa paraded a large squad of 120 people, including 105 athletes at the battle of Ndola.

Speaking with our correspondent yesterday on arrival in Lagos, female hurdler, Osamuyi Faith, who won a gold and silver in the relay and 100m hurdles respectively, said that she was excited to be part of the trip to Zambia.

“I am so happy to make the trip to Zambia, and I appreciate the AFN leadership for the opportunity.”

Another athlete, Ewa Peace, who got a silver medal in the high jump event, was also full of happiness, saying the battle of Ndola afforded her the opportunity to meet with athletes from different parts of Africa.

President of the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN), Tonobok Okowa, yesterday, said that the Sports Minister, Dare, has promised to be on ground in Lagos today to receive the second batch of the athletes and officials.

Meanwhile, the Technical Director of AFN, Samuel Onikeku, has explained why the athletes and officials traveled to Zambia in two batches.

“It is sad that some Nigerians will just wake up and start criticising what we are doing without taking their time to find out the actual position of things. This championship was earlier scheduled to hold in Nusaka, but was moved to Ndola at the dying minutes.”

It was not possible for us to get over 50 seats in one airline. Even other countries like Egypt also traveled on different airlines to the championship. People should appreciate the effort of the present AFN board. Let us also celebrate the athletes for a job well done,” Onikeku stated.

The Guardian

When we think of potential career paths, the popular ones that come to mind are doctor, teacher, lawyer, etc., but there are so many jobs that never even cross our minds. Things are the way they are, the world functions the way it functions, and we don't even consider how certain things exist or are maintained. Well, some folks shared the jobs they've done that people don't even know exist, and it's all super enlightening. Scroll down and see for yourself!

The following is a compilation of submissions from threads that can be found here, here, and here.

1. "I used to put timestamps on Netflix videos for the 'Skip Intro' button. I would wake up, log on to a special page, and have a list of videos/shows to timestamp. I was paid for eight hours of work a day, and most days I could breeze through my daily workload in two to three hours."

—TexasCplL

2. "Have you ever sung karaoke? Well, not many people realize that somebody has to match those lyrics to the song and properly time their appearance. That was my job senior year of high school. There's an art to it. I took it very seriously. 'Pop Hits Monthly 2000-2001.' That's me, baby!"

—burtwinters

3. "I once worked for a newborn photography agency as a 'Bereavement Coordinator.' The rest of the company centered around photos of newborns taken in the hospital after their birth, but I dealt with the non-profit side of the business. Essentially, my job was to sort through hospital photos of babies that were either miscarried or stillbirths, who died in the hospital. I'd choose the best photos and do some light corrections, get them printed, and create a memorial packet for the parents that was then sent to the hospital's bereavement program for any parent who wanted the photos."

—skjori

4. "I compose music and design sound effects for slot machines. I live in Vegas, but still, few people outside of the slot industry know my job exists. Makes for a bit of interesting conversation."

—musicman702

5. "I'm a prop shopper for a popular TV show. Basically, I show up, the designer tells me what specific prop the show needs for the taping, and it's my job to go buy or rent it. It's fun because they ask you to get ridiculous stuff sometimes and it's a challenge to find it."

—77Columbus

6. "A horse braider. Not a breeder, but a braider. My mom braids horses' manes and tails for horse shows. It’s quite lucrative, as everything to do with horses is expensive."

—illbethegreatest

7. "Wide format printing. Ever see a really big, vinyl banner hanging up at an event? Trade show flags and retractable graphics? Plastic or foamcore signage? I get to play with a flatbed printer that is 10 feet wide and eight feet deep. Organizations contact me, I get them a quote based on material costs, how fast my printer can print, and production time (trimming, hemming, grommets, etc.)."

—[deleted]

8. "The department of Weight and Measures. They check to make sure gas stations are accurate, e.g. they actually pump one gallon of gas when the pump displays that a gallon has been pumped."

—Stimperonovitch

9. "I graphic design coupons onto the back of receipts."

—Separate-The-Earth

10. "Getting rid of commercials in sports bars, and replacing them with endless amounts of media customizable by the consumer. My job as quality control is to push a button on an iPad when, ESPN for example, switches from a program to a commercial. It triggers the change in all restaurants/bars using the service (like Dave & Buster's)."

—heny935

11. "Instructing at a mermaid school. I teach classes where people learn how to swim and do tricks with a mermaid tail on. We also host birthday parties and bachelorette parties. The real fun part is modeling as a mermaid for promotional photos/videos."

—Secret_ice_cream

12. "Making clothes for Barbies. My mom did this as a textile engineer for Mattel. When she retired from the job, they gave her a miniature Barbie that was made to look like exactly like her. The doll has clothes my mom would wear and a whole office cubicle with miniature pictures of my family on her desk. It's pretty cool."

—fangxx456

13. "Underwater construction/salvage/inspection. I’m a commercial diver and I get called for pretty much any job that requires something be done underwater gets. It’s loads of fun and the pay is great!"

—19jos95

14. "I attempt to read addresses on mail that machines can't."

—aziraphale60

15. "Building hiking trails. A lot of people assume they're just naturally formed or something, but that's the goal of a good trail builder."

—Lo-def

16. "You know those fire evacuation maps that are entirely useless because nobody's gonna stop and look at a map on their way out of a burning building? Yeah, I design those."

—Stebraul

17. "You know those big companies with millions of fans on Facebook, Twitter, and such? You know when they make a new post and it gets like a bunch of comments, which have tons of spam and swear words and inappropriate content in them? I had a job where I would read over ALL of the comments and clear them according to guidelines set by the client."

—scrat55

18. "I get paid to be a live mannequin. No, not a model that poses in pictures, gets her makeup done, and gets put in magazines — I work behind the scenes, in the warehouse. Designers for huge chain stores will use my frame to show outfits to the CEO of a company who approves or rejects the looks. Clothing on a mannequin looks totally different on a real person."

—julieannluna

19. "I seriously have the job of trying to contact people who place orders on a very, VERY popular website, and then try to cancel their card before it actually gets charged. See, we don't charge until right before the item ships, which is sometimes a day or two. Some people have figured that out, and OCCASIONALLY one will ship out before we've actually charged the card. There are literally thousands of people out there who go on our site, make a purchase, and try to cancel or somehow block the charge going through in the hopes that the product will ship out. I call 25-40 people per day trying to get them to update their payment method. Sometimes you can tell that it's honestly innocent, like their card expired or got lost. But most of them play stupid and hang up on you."

—CDC_

20. "Once got paid for a month of 40-hour work weeks to sit at a gate and make sure no cows got out. I was a 'Bovine Identification and Exit Prevention Specialist.' Never saw a fucking cow. Read some good books, though."

—thehumanscott

21. "Trucking companies employ people who recover abandoned trucks and cargo. Apparently truckers will just be like, 'Fuck it' and leave their trucks and trailers on the side of a road. These companies pay pretty well and you are on call 24/7, but they fly you all over the country to retrieve their stuff."

—Smitesfan

22. "I had a brief stint as a 'Junior Cheese Evaluator.' What is less known than the cheese tasting part is the business analytics side of things. We have to know what good cheese is and what consumer tastes are like and how to influence those tastes to make room for company products that maximize profits for the cheesemaker and retailer. There’s a whole national certification exam I was studying for before I decided to take a drastic career shift."

—applepiepirate

23. "I used to be an E-911 call tester for a large service provider in the US. I'd literally drive cell tower to cell tower calling 911 to make sure it routed to the correct emergency services. You'd be surprised by how many times it failed."

—PM_ME_UR_BOOTY_GRIL

24. And finally, "I was a enucleator. When people passed and wanted to donate their corneas, I would retrieve their eyes from their body and take them to the lab to process for transplant."

—ratwood99

Submissions have been edited for length and clarity.

BuzzFeed

In an interview with Channels Television on Thursday, former Catholic Archbishop of Abuja, John Onaiyekan, expressed doubts about the wisdom of swearing in President-elect Bola Tinubu before the conclusion of the election tribunal.

Tinubu's victory in the presidential election is currently being contested in court by Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Peter Obi of the Labour Party (LP). Onaiyekan suggested that the electoral process in the nation needs to be reevaluated, as it often produces winners who are plagued by legal challenges to their legitimacy.

He argued that until the court has made a decision on the election, it is premature to swear in a president-elect.

Onaiyekan acknowledged that similar situations have occurred with governors in the past, but argued that the outcomes have not been satisfactory. He called for a review of the electoral process to ensure that winners emerge in a way that everyone can rally around, and expressed his concern that every election seems to be constantly contested.

House of Representatives has called on the Independent National Electoral Commission to remove fictitious names and those of dead Nigerians from its voters register, describing it as bogus.

The House made the call at plenary on Thursday, following the unanimous adoption of a motion of urgent public importance moved by a member, Leke Abejide.

The motion was titled ‘Urgent Need for Independent National Electoral Commission to Develop Mechanism to Clean Up Its System of Dead and Fictitious Registered Voters.’

According to Abejide, INEC’s register is “full of millions of people who are dead and non-existent persons.”

He said, “In the last general election, it was glaring and crystal clear that people that were long dead had their names still displayed in the voters’ register. Even my own deceased father, who passed on long ago, still has his name displayed on the board.

“Apart from dead voters, there are millions of fictitious voters who do not exist anywhere on this planet earth but have their names on INEC’s register of voters. It is believed that this came to be as a result of double or multiple registrations by Nigerians who had or have the intention of rigging elections, but with the advent of the Bimodal Voters Accreditation System, these faceless individuals can no longer vote anymore.”

Adopting the motion, the House resolved that “INEC should conduct vigorous public enlightenment for all Nigerians to be much aware of what makes the voters register bogus, which is the numbers of dead and fictitious persons.”

The lawmakers also resolved that INEC should develop a mechanism or software application, where families who lost their loved ones can report the demise of a particular Permanent Voter Card number so that it can be duly deleted from the Commission’s register, polling unit and ward.

“Whoever does not vote in two election cycles back to back be deleted from INEC register as non-existing human beings,” the House resolved.

Another resolution was that INEC should include voter verification in its continuous voter registration exercise to identify those on the register who are still alive as well as fish out those with fake registration.

Furthermore, the House mandated its Committee on Electoral Matters to ensure compliance with the resolutions.

INEC had on January 11, 2023, prior to the just-concluded general elections, released the final list of voters for the 2023 general elections. The number of registered voters rose from 84,004,084 in 2019 to 93,469,008 in 2023.

Punch

Nigeria’s manufacturing activity pulled off a sharp growth last month, shaking off successive contractions in the two months preceding April.

The growth was recorded as the squeeze resulting from the central bank’s push to wean Africa’s largest economy off dependence on physical cash softened.

The country’s Purchasing Manager Index (PMI) came in at 53.8 for the month on increased production level and improvement in new business, according to newly issued factory activity data.

A reading higher than 50 points to growth, while any below that threshold implies a shrinking in PMI, which assesses the overall direction that business condition in the manufacturing industry is headed.

Hiring was restrained and employment consequently slowed as companies still grappled with uncertainty in some way, following the crisis.

“The easing of the cash shortage challenge in April saw improvement in both output and consumer demand,” Muyiwa Oni, Head of Equity Research West Africa at Stanbic IBTC Bank, said.

Stanbic IBTC Bank works alongside S&P Global and Nigeria’s statistics office every month to provide the data.

“While the easier access to cash caused business activities to expand across key sectors (Agriculture, manufacturing, services and wholesales and retails sectors), firms however maintained caution in increasing staff head count,” Oni further stated.

His optimism for activity in the near term is measured, considering that sentiment remains relatively weak and given the signals that access to cash will be steady, not dramatic.

The document highlighted a steep jump in input costs for manufacturers in April, not altogether unanticipated as Nigeria’s inflation climbed to 22 per cent in the preceding month, closing in on its 18-year peak.

Even though firms passed on the increased cost to customers, that was done sensitively in order to attract them, leading to the slightest rate of selling price increase in three years.

“Business sentiment remained subdued in April, despite a slight pick-up from March. In fact, optimism was among the lowest seen since the survey began in January 2014,” the report said.

PT

Registrar of Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria, (TRCN), Josiah Ajiboye, says 70 per cent of teachers in private schools in the Southwest are unqualified.

Speaking on Thursday in Abuja at the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding between the council and INSTILL Education on bringing in new dynamics into the profession, Ajiboye revealed that contrary to several speculations about the southwest and its teachers in private schools, 70 per cent were discovered not qualified.

While lamenting that 70 per cent of the unqualified teachers lacked the prerequisite to be registered by the Council, the TRCN boss stated that a large number of teachers in Nigeria have never been exposed to training and have been using outdated equipment for illustration.

“A large number of teachers in private schools in Nigeria today are not qualified. We wanted to use a consultant to get revenue from teachers in private schools. When we carried out a survey, we observed that 70 per cent of teachers in the Southwest were not qualified,” he said.

According to him, they are not registrable with the TRCN and that is to say there is a big gap.

“These people do not possess the requisite qualification to register with the Council, and so there’s a big gap. So we are looking into the future to fill up that gap like it’s done in South Africa,” he said.

He said signing the MoU marks a milestone in the proposed collaboration between INSTILL Education and TRCN which is aimed at equipping Nigerian teachers with 21st century skills that will ultimately support teachers’ professional development and learning outcomes in Nigeria and Africa in general.

He noted that the Council has 2.3 million teachers in its database, and developed the Policy on Career Path for the profession and the Professional Standards for Nigerian Teachers (PSNT) which have been domesticated by Sierra-Leone and adopted by the Africa Union (AU) for implementation in Africa.

“The major component of this MOU is to service the in-service teachers. How do we go about capacitating them and up-skilling them? Many of these teachers have never been exposed to a single training programme since they were employed and have been doing the same thing the same way, whereas there are dynamics if the classroom and things are changing with regards to the classroom,” he said.

Ajiboye added, “So these teachers need to be exposed to new ways of doing things and that’s what INSTILL is coming with. They are experts who are working with expertise, technology and will help us to do this type of capitation for our teachers.”

Daily Trust

Unidentified gunmen on Thursday attacked a police checkpoint located along the Umunze-Ihite Road in Orumba South Local Government Area of Anambra State.

The attack resulted in the death of three police officers who were on duty at the checkpoint. Reports suggest that the gunmen arrived at the scene in large numbers and began firing on the officers. Although some officers managed to escape, three were killed on the spot. An eyewitness, who lives near the checkpoint, said that the gunmen came in a commando-like manner and fired shots in the air to scare residents.

As a result of the attack, the community has become deserted, with shop owners closing their shops, and people fleeing or remaining indoors in fear of another attack.

A video clip circulating on WhatsApp shows the bodies of the slain officers at the scene of the attack. One body was found lying on the road, while the other two were discovered at the corner of a nearby building.

The state police command spokesman, Tochukwu Ikenga, confirmed the incident, describing it as a high price paid by security officers in the line of duty. He added that the police are not deterred by the attack and have deployed reinforcements to the area to hunt for the assailants.

Heavy fighting in Khartoum; Sudan's children caught in conflict, UN says

Fierce fighting persisted in Sudan on Thursday despite a truce agreement as U.S. intelligence said rival forces were trying to gain the upper hand ahead of possible negotiations and the U.N. warned of the violence's devastating toll on children.

Despite multiple ceasefire declarations, the two sides appeared to be battling for control of territory in the capital Khartoum ahead of proposed talks, though the leaders of both factions have shown little public willingness to negotiate after more than two weeks of fighting.

The Sudanese army on Thursday sought to dislodge the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary force from its positions near central Khartoum in intense battles.

"Both sides believe they can win militarily and have few incentives to come to the negotiating table," U.S. Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines told the Senate Armed Services Committee in Washington.

With fighting having continued despite ceasefire deals, the White House said it may sanction those responsible for destabilising Sudan.

The sudden collapse into warfare has killed hundreds, triggered a humanitarian disaster, sent an exodus of refugees to neighbouring states and risks dragging in outside powers, further destabilising an already restive region.

"The situation in Sudan is teetering toward catastrophe, and children are increasingly caught in the crossfire," Catherine Russell, executive director of the U.N. children's agency UNICEF said in a statement. "For the sake of Sudan’s children, the violence must stop."

Saying attacks had limited its ability to provide aid to children across the country, UNICEF said it had received reports of 190 children killed and 1,700 injured in Sudan since the conflict erupted on April 15. Firm numbers were difficult to obtain due to the intensity of the violence, it said.

Sudan said on Tuesday that 550 people had died and 4,926 people been wounded.

UNICEF called on the battling factions to ensure children were not caught in the line of fire, including by stopping attacks on health centres, schools and water stations.

FOOD AID LOOTED

The conflict has dealt a crippling blow to the heart of the country's economy in the capital Khartoum, disrupted internal trade routes, threatened imports and triggered a cash crunch.

Across swathes of the capital, factories, banks and shops have been looted or damaged, power and water supplies have been failing and residents have reported steep price rises and shortages of basic goods.

Several large markets have been destroyed, said Saddam Siddig Bashasha, who runs a solar energy and generator business in Khartoum. "These torched markets supported poor workers and farmers. Thousands of them lost their jobs, which will make conditions really difficult," he said.

The fighting results from a power struggle between two rival factions, the army and RSF, that had shared power after a coup in 2021, derailing efforts to bring democracy and civilian rule after a 2019 popular uprising that unseated strongman Omar al-Bashir.

U.S. President Joe Biden called the violence a betrayal of the Sudanese people's demands for civilian government and said the U.S. stood ready to offer humanitarian assistance "when conditions allow".

The sound of bombardment and clashes rang out in Khartoum and its adjoining cities of Omdurman and Bahri on Thursday in violation of the latest, seven-day, truce agreement. The army was trying to push the RSF from positions around the presidential palace and military headquarters.

"Since yesterday evening, and this morning, there are air strikes and the sounds of clashes," said Al-Sadiq Ahmed, a 49-year-old engineer speaking from Khartoum.

"We've got into a state of permanent terror because the battles are around the centres of residential neighbourhoods. We don't know when this nightmare and the fear will end."

The United Nations, meanwhile, pressed the warring factions to guarantee safe passage of aid after six trucks were looted.

U.N. aid chief Martin Griffiths said he hoped to have face-to-face meetings with both sides within two to three days to secure guarantees from them for aid convoys.

The World Food Programme (WFP) on Thursday estimated that $13 million to $14 million worth of food destined to people in need in Sudan had been plundered so far.

About 100,000 people have fled Sudan with little food or water to neighbouring countries, the U.N. says.

The civilian toll has been exacerbated by the warring sides' use of explosive weapons including tanks, artillery, rockets and airstrikes in populated areas, Human Rights Watch said on Thursday, accusing them of reckless disregard for civilian life.

Reuters